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Mark Jeremy Seymour was born on 26 July 1956 in Benalla to Frank and Paula Seymour.[1] He has two older sisters, Hilary and Helen, and a younger brother, Nick (born 1958) – later bass guitarist for Crowded House.[2] His mother encouraged all four children to learn musical instruments and sing.[2] He initially learned piano but switched to guitar as a teenager. Seymour and his family moved to Melbourne in 1972, he graduated from University of Melbourne in 1978 and was qualified to teach.[2] He later lived in the St Kilda area.

By 1980 Mark Seymour, on lead guitar, was a member of The Jetsonnes, a post-punk pop group formed in Melbourne, with John Archer on bass guitar; Doug Falconer on drums; Margot O'Neill on lead vocals; and Ray Tosti-Gueira on guitar.[3]Clinton Walker described the group as "lighter, bouncier (rather than funkier) and more infectious than other like-minded bands such as Models".[3] They issued a split single, "Newspaper", with the other side, "Miniskirts in Moscow", by fellow pop group, International Exiles.[3][4] The Jetsonnes, Models, and International Exiles were "the first bands to rise out of Melbourne's hothouse punk, new wave explosion playing an exuberant brand of neo-pop".[4]

In 1981, Seymour formed Hunters & Collectors from the remnants of The Jetsonnes with Archer, Falconer, and Tosti-Gueira.[3] According to musicologist, Ian McFarlane, this was "a far more radical and unremitting concept" and Seymour, with his "blue labourer's singlet, bulging biceps, introspective angst and impassioned vocals" became the "thinking woman's sex symbol".[3]

Seymour continues to tour, focusing on mostly small acoustic performances. In 2008, Thirteen Tonne Theory, a memoir detailing his experiences with Hunters and Collectors, was published by Penguin Books.

He wrote the anthem "Holy Grail", which although not intended to be about sport, became synonymous with the AFL Grand Final and adopted by Network Ten for broadcasts of AFL matches, and also with Queensland's first Sheffield Shield cricket win in 1995. Seymour has performed at several AFL Grand Finals.